Recycling Water and Air in Space

Here is a PDF activity from the NASA.gov website that takes you through air and water recycling in space. Some of your Option Twos might find this useful...

Recycling Water and Air in Space

What is it like to work in space?

And more importantly what happens if you get stuck working out there? Find out from former astronaut Dave Wolf.

The SPEED of LIGHT (with Peeps)

Have you ever noticed that when you microwave something, some parts are really cold still while others are piping hot (Hate that!)? Well the distance between those hot and cold spots can help lead you to find -with a little easy math- the SPEED of LIGHT!

Yes, you read that correctly, the speed of light can be found anytime you heat up that Kid's Cuisine (Does anyone eat those anymore? Probably not, I am sure they are not even remotely natural, organic, or gluten free.) The wavelengths of the actual microwaves in a microwave go the speed of light, so if you gather a ruler, a casserole dish of food, and scrap paper or calculator, you too, can find the speed of light, using a microwave, with a little help from the video below!

Mrs. Loehe

EVERYONE ♥ NEIL deGRASSE TYSON!

I know I do...

Watch DEATH BY A BLACK HOLE by clicking here.

DNews for Monday and More on the STARS of Our Week

Happy Monday, Sixth Grade Scientists! This week, we delve deeper into the stars and the galaxies they make up. We will focus on the parts of a star (See the diagram of the Sun below.), star classification, constellations, and types of galaxies.

If you are interested in exploring what lies above our heads here in Wisconsin and elsewhere, I recommend you download the program Stellarium. It offers great, real time views of constellations and planets visible in the sky, from anywhere in the world, along with constellation lore from a variety of cultures. The best part of it all, is that it is free and available for a variety of OS platforms.

Below you will also find our DNews for Monday (It's a little old, but it answers a great question: Why is space black?) and, once again, that stellar diagram. ;)

Mrs. Loehe

The Sun...That Silly Star

Ah, the Sun. Provider for life and energy, giant ball of hydrogen and helium, and apparently the overlord of weather in our area of space...

Option Three NASA Asteroid Initiative Information

Many of you Option Three students have run into some road blocks with creating your projects. As I have still not heard back from my NASA contacts in regards to your e-mails, here are some PDFs that outline the NASA Asteroid Capture Initiative. If you would like help deconstructing what you are reading, please come and see during work time!

Mrs. Loehe

Complete Mission Overview

Asteroid Redirect Mission Reference Concept

Space Project Option Two Water Variable Concerns

This is mission control to Option Two students, come in Option Two...

Many of you who are working on designing  your sustainable space colony are wondering what you can do about water in space, particularly if where you plan on settling doesn't have liquid water easily available. Well, the one this you could do, is recycle water, in all its forms, similar to what we do here on Earth and what astronauts do on the International Space Station. 

Below I have included some links to help further redirect you, and once again, I urge you to look into the links on the right-hand side of the blog!

Mrs. Loehe

• Recycle dirty water using the Forward Osmosis Bag!
• Closing the Loop: Recycling Water in Space
• Singapore's Toilet to Tap Program
• Chris Hadfield on ISS Water Recycling

Remember where the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud are...

Bill Nye the Science Guy: The Moon

Solar System Review for the Quiz

Hello 6th Graders,

I originally had a Google Hangout video made to help you prepare for this quiz, but, unfortunately, the audio didn't really workout. (NOOOOOOOO!) :\ So, what I recommend you do is read the Background Information page in your scale model, NEO packet, and watch the video below!

Happy Studying,
Mrs. Loehe

I'm baaaaaack!

Hello, Sixth Grade Scientists!

I am back, and we will start our Mondays with Science News again. Here is today's. Now that I am back, remember to check the blog regularly for resources, news, and project information!

Mrs. Loehe

More on Rosetta...

Here are some more videos on the Rosetta mission. Remember, Philae is set to land next month!

Mrs. Loehe

My day at NASA JPL!

Greetings and salutations from Pasadena, California, Sixth Grade Scientists!

Yesterday, I spent the day visiting NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the second time. I was able to get a special look at the facility where they test futuristic engines that run on Xenon, the Mars Rover Yard, and a very famous mission control room. Later in the day, we spent time meeting with scientists and engineers who work on a variety of comet related projects launching, landing, or taking pictures of a comet near(ish) you!

You can watch the UStream of this meeting by clicking HERE, or you can view some of my tweets and pictures from the day below. I will also be creating an Animoto of all of my JPL pictures too!

Mrs. Loehe

Art Chmieiewski shows where the Rosetta lander will touchdown on #67P @esa_rosetta @NASASocial @NASAJPL pic.twitter.com/8j5cHrxTmA
— KC Grim (@CitizenKace) October 13, 2014

This is how I picture @esa_rosetta's aperture consuming the comet's dust. #nasasocial http://t.co/6BHmtgTcNl
— Shannon Gallagher (@ShannonKarleen) October 13, 2014

Lander weighs less than a penny on the comet! WHOA! #67p #NASASocial
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

#67P, the comet, is going forty times the speed of a bullet. Definitely makes it difficult for scientists on the @ESA_Rosetta. #NASASocial
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

Comets: space's "icy dirtballs." #marscomet #NASASocial
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

Sixth Grade Scientists, can you spot the parts of the comet? #marscomet pic.twitter.com/OqMJNuecXa
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

Comet Siding Spring Mars Exploration Program: learn more, Sixth Graders! #NASASocial #MarsComet http://t.co/gqux8r7HTz via @sharethis
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

How smappy is that?! It's SMAP @NASAJPL! Set to launch and circle an Earth near you! #nasasocial pic.twitter.com/NdpYEBxfr1
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

Lool at the damage to @MarsCuriosity rover's wheels. Don't remember seeing that shredding last year! Rough journeys! pic.twitter.com/3cCP5YQfKT
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

If I only had a brain...#scarecrow rover @NASAJPL Mars Yards pic.twitter.com/bkQutePmpR
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

Xenon power! I feel like I just saw some crazy #starwars technology @NASAJPL pic.twitter.com/ZgEghQ4Dlr
— Loehe Science (@BaysideScience6) October 13, 2014

The Rosetta Mission Asks: What Can We Learn from Comets?

It's your Science News Monday Special: Speaking with Rosetta Mission Scientists about comets and their importance!

Watch the video below and visit NASA JPL's Rosetta Page (click here).



Click here for even MORE pictures, videos, and news on the Rosetta Mission via the European Space Agency's Rosetta blog.

Student Aurora Questions and Answers

Today, some students asked questions about auroras to NASA scientist Jim Spann during a NASA chat. Here are a few of the questions and answers shared by the chat moderator:

What colors can auroras be? What causes the color change?

jim_spann: The colors of the aurora range from deep reds to greens and occasionally blues. The colors depend on which atmospheric constituent was excited. The red ones are dominated by oxygen and the green ones by molecular nitrogen. 

How can auroras impact technology here on Earth? Do they have any impact on living things?

jim_spann: This is a great question. There are two points I would make with regard to the impact of auroras on technology. I want to introduce the concept of space weather. The aurora is our most obvious manifestation of space weather. Space weather is the dynamic aspect of the plasma that occupies space above our atmosphere. The aurora results from space weather that is driven by the variability of our star, called the Sun. Space weather can cause spacecraft to malfunction or become disabled. This impacts a lot of technology, in particular communications.  So that is the first point I would make about the aurora or space weather impacting technology on Earth. The second point is that when there are large space weather events called magnetic storms, the aurora kicks up and becomes very active and very bright. Another consequence of a magnetic storm is that the currents that are created by the charged particles that cause the aurora induce other currents along our power lines and pipelines. These currents in the powerlines can cause failures to power transformers on the power grid. An example occurred in 1986 in Quebec that took out the power to millions of people in the Northeast. If we were to have a huge magnetic storm, much larger than we've experienced recently, significant damage to society's infrastructure could occur. 

Are there auroras on Mars?

jim_spann: There are two things that are required for auroras. One is a magnetic field and the other is an atmosphere. Mars has an atmosphere, but a very, very weak, disorganized magnetic field. Therefore, you would not see an aurora at Mars. But you would see the atmosphere glow if you had good enough sensitivity. In fact, a NASA mission called MAVEN is arriving at Mars and will observe the Mars air glow. *

(*It should be noted that Jim Spann brought up auroras have been captured by the Hubble telescope and Cassini mission elsewhere in the Solar System! However, a planet without an atmosphere will not have auroras.)

Done with your vocabulary packet?

If you have finished your vocabulary packet and need something to do in class today, then please formulate some questions to share with NASA scientist, Jim Spann, about auroras! NASA is hosting a chat this afternoon, September 9th, to answer your questions about those beautiful lights in the sky. To learn more about auroras and the chat, explore the links below. Submit your questions to me before you leave class today!

 Happy clicking!
 Mrs. Loehe

 NASA Chat: Aurora Season

What is an aurora?

What are the northern lights?

Solar Wind Reading Glossary

Just in case you missed something in class, here is the chart. Please make sure these are all in your notebook by Friday! -Mrs. Loehe

Word	"Real Definition"
Sunspot	A cooler, dark spot on the sun that shows a concentration of magnetic forces.
Sunspot Cycle	The 11 year (on average) cycle of sunspot increases and decreases.
Solar Flares	A powerful release of energy from the sun's surface (like 1000 hydrogen bombs) where magnetic fields were tangled.
CME (Coronal Mass Ejection)	The sudden explosion of matter from the surface of the sun.
Corona	The outer layer of the sun that extends into interplanetary space (seen during eclipses).
Magnetosphere	The protective, magnetic region around the Earth that controls charged particles.
Bow Shock	The protective magnetic boundary on the Sun-side of the Earth.
Magnetotail	The magnetic boundary stretching behind the Earth (like a tail).
Aurora Borealis & Aurora Australis	The Northern and Southern Lights, which are curtains of light on the magnetic poles caused by charged electrons interacting with the atmosphere.
Auroral Oval	A glowing donut shape over the magnetic poles
Magnetic Sub-Storms	Storms that occur when the magnetic field around earth is changed because of a switch in the solar winds' polarity.
Auroral Storm	Magnetic storm auroras.
Geomagnetic Storms	Sever magnetic storms that are caused by major changes in direction and density of solar winds.

Science News: Tuesmonday!

A day late and a dollar short...

Hey! We are talking about CME's, and the way that they interact with our MAGNETOSPHERE. 
What do rockets have to do with that? How are scientists using them to study auroras? Watch the video below to learn more.

AND finally, here is a Curiosity Rover Report... I think I have seen that "scarecrow" before, and that Mars yard looks awfully familiar. Hmmmm...

Galaxy Types (and other quiz related matters)

Here is the transparency from last week's class!

Here is Edwin Hubble's Fork Diagram.

What else to know for the quiz...

• What type of galaxy are we in?
• How are the phases of the moon created?
• What is an "umbra" and a "penumbra?"
• Why don't we see more eclipses?
• Why are there tides?
• What is a magnetosphere? (We will talk about this tomorrow!)